Reunion
by Nuage14
Summary: Reid is going to his fifteen year high school reunion, but Garcia made sure the genius was not alone. She sent JJ along for the ride. OneShot.


Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds._ That belongs to those lovely people at CBS who finally realized the show needed AJ Cook and Paget Brewster, as well as finally giving Thomas Gibson his contract.

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><p>This is set sometime after <em>Memoriam<em>. No Will or Henry. I love Henry, but I can't stand Will. He just ruins everything when it comes to my JJ/Reid ship.

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><p>"<em>It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you." <em>

_- Brad Pitt -  
><em>

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><p>As he adjusted his tie for the thirteenth time in four minutes, Dr. Spencer Reid wondered how he could have possibly avoided the current situation.<p>

If he had convinced JJ to stay at the station, she would have never became so excited, running off to call Garcia. If he had not gone to the video store where Michael Curry, the team's most recent bad guy, had worked, he would have never ran into an "old friend". If the team had not taken that case, he would be far from this city, probably more near the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific. If he had just stayed home faking sickness that week, like he had wanted to, he would be home, watching _Star Trek_ or practicing his magic tricks. If he had never joined the bureau. . . Well, he didn't really like that idea as much.

_Fourteen, _he thought, making sure the knot of his tie was tied right. _Not like anyone's keeping count._ He almost laughed at this thought, knowing fully well that he was, in fact, keeping count. _It's looks fine. Keep touching it and you'll mess it up. Don't want to give _them_ more reasons to make fun of you. _

Grimacing, he turned away from the mirror. He had no idea when he was leaving, so he turned the small television in his hotel room. All over the news was Lou Jenkins, who was tried and charged with the murder of Gary Michaels, who killed Riley Jenkins. _A long line of violence and your father was no where involved_, he thought. Though, he wasn't quite sure

Suddenly, along with Morgan and Rossi, he saw himself on the screen, bringing Lou Jenkins into the station, followed by a clip of the trial that was held earlier in the day. He became self-conscious of how he looked, and scrambled for his bag, looking for something. Pulling sweater after sweater out of the bag, he finally found what he was looking for.

Pulling it over his head, he heard a knock at the door. "Coming!" he yelled as he attempted to smooth out his sweater vest. Running the short distance to the door, he pulled it open, a little too fast. He almost hit himself with it. _That could have easily broken my nose,_ he thought quickly. _Too bad it didn't._

It was Jennifer Jareau at the door, the only person he had been expecting. She smiled softly at him, while he stood there gaping. Here was the girl who made him feel warm from head to toe, who had always been lovely to him. But now, she had agreed to go to his dreadful 15 year reunion. He couldn't imagine anyone more perfect.

Then, she starting laughing. He noticed she was staring right at him. Blushing, he ran a hand through his hair, feeling like it was high school all over again. More than ever, he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. Not only did he have to return to all the people that did him wrong, the woman he was in love with was laughing in his face.

"Look, Spence," she said between giggles, "we match." Quickly looking at her attire and his, he smiled as well. He wore his dark purple dress shirt, a lone black tie, and the black and gray sweater vest he had thrown on. His pants and shoes matched his tie, but in his shoes, he wore an orange Halloween sock and black sock with fireworks. JJ wore a simple purple dress, with a darker purple sash just above her waist. Her jacket was black, matching the simple black, open-toe heels.

"Well," he said, trying to think of something to say, "Everyone will know who I was lucky enough to go with."

It was her turn to blush, casting her eyes downward at his shoes. Smirking, he was instantly pleased with himself. He had made _her_ blush. There was a first for everything.

JJ looked back at him, cheeks slightly pink, saying, "Better grab your jacket, Reid, or we'll be late."

Groaning, he replied, "Late? Late's fine with me. How about we be late enough that we arrive when everyone else is leaving?" Grinning, he hoped she would agree and he would show her how he won in the casinos.

"No," she said, a sly gleam in her eye, "Garcia spent a lot of time on us coming. She, along with Emily, want you to go and show everyone how successful you became. That's the whole reason they have high school reunions."

Pushing his hands deep into his pockets, he states, "Actually, that's not the reasons to go to high school reunions. Most people go to see their old friends, while also seeing how other people's live have had negative effects after high school. Some may even try to relive old high school memories, or even do the things they wanted to do while they were in high school. Many people talk about bad memories, but now, they laugh about it as a way to. . ."

"Spence," JJ said, "Jacket. Now." He scoffed, groaned and turned into the room to grab his jacket and scarf, while she smirked the whole time. Stuffing his arms into his jacket, he looked longingly at his revolver. It sat lonely on the desk. Today was one of the first days in a while he was leaving without it. Normally, he was out at work, wearing it on his belt, or he was making the transition to or from work, when it was carefully stashed in his massager bag.

Sighing, he stepped out into the hall, checking to make sure the door was locked and he had his cell phone. He secretly wished someone from the team would call either him or JJ and tell them they needed to hightail it home because they had a case. Even with the situation, he was immediately warmed by JJ's smile as they entered the car.

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><p>When they arrived at their destination, Reid couldn't help but groan. It was almost exactly how he remembered it. The tall brick building sat in the middle of a large parking lot, where cars could park on all four sides. He could see the goals from the turf-covered football field, as well as the indoor track not too far from the school. The school name was not visible, though. It was covered by a large blue banner, reading "Welcome Class of 1992!" in large, gold letters.<p>

"This doesn't seem too bad," JJ mused from the passenger seat. Her high school building had been three times smaller in size; she could only imagine how many students attended the school.

Reid scoffed as he turned off the engine. "That's only because it's fifteen years later."

JJ blinked at him, mouth set in a hard line. She gazed back at the people entering the building. Some were in pairs, but many were alone as they stepped through the doors. As she heard her friend shut the driver's side door, she was glad Garcia had made sure he hadn't come alone.

With one of his hands shoved into his pants pocket, he opened the door to the dark SUV. "Thanks, Spence," she said, sliding off her seat. His hand held the door as her heels clicked on the ground as she hit the pavement. "Ever the gentleman."

As she turned to grab her purse, he said, "Wait, JJ. What's that?" She looked back at him, seeing his staring and pointing at her hand. Following his gaze, blood rushed to her cheeks. She silently cursed Garcia because she made the mistake in the first place and never told their resident genius.

"Oh," the blonde liaison said, "Did Garcia not tell you?" When he shook his head at her, she continued, "Well, when Garcia called to make the reservations, she. . . Uh, choked, I guess."

Raising an eyebrow, not smirking at all, he frowned. "_Garcia _choked? I highly doubt that. She was probably persuaded by Morgan."

Smirking at him, she asked, "You think Morgan persuaded Garcia to tell whoever she talked to that Dr. Spencer Reid was coming with his 'fiancée', who happens to be play by me tonight?"

"Only with my whole heart."

"C'mon, Spence. That's a little juvenile, even for Morgan." The still blushing blonde grabbed her purse and shut the door. "But, look at how big this diamond is. Every girl in there is going to be jealous."

"I highly doubt that," he responded, turning on his heel and stalking off toward the building.

His strides were much longer than hers and she struggled to catch up. It didn't help he was walking much faster than usual. "Spence," she called, "wait up!" It was much different in her formal black heels. She was used to the thinker heels she used for her job, not the thin ones she wore when she dressed up.

He turned to face her, a puzzled look on his face. She smiled, and said, "I am much shorter than you, so if you run, I won't be able to catch up in these shoes."

"JJ, I'm not running."

They reached the door. He pulled it open for her. "Reid," she said, stepping through the doorway. She thanked him, but didn't continue on with her sentence. All she did was slip her arm around his, making blood rush to his face.

The two followed the signs to the gymnasium, where a large table sat outside of the doors. There was no one standing at the table, only two people sitting behind them. One was a woman, who Reid guessed, was much shorter and larger than JJ was. She had dark hair and long red nails that danced across the table top. The other person was a man with a graying beard and a bald spot among his blonde hair. His blue eyes were staring intently at the woman's fingers, as if he was trying to tell them to stop.

JJ's heels on the floor made both of them look up at the newly arrived guests. "Step over here!" the woman called, her fingers touching all the name tags on the table. JJ pulled Reid arm over to the table, more excited about the whole event than he was. He couldn't help but groan.

"I'm Sp. . ." he started.

"Shhh!" the woman told him. "I'm trying to see if I can remember you." Reid wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't, to avoid further embarrassment. This woman might call him on it.

Instead, he focused his attention on their name tags. The man was Leon Kent. Of course, Reid remembered him. He was a good baseball player, who loved the history classes. Though, there wasn't really much Leon Kent _could _do, other than play baseball and ace his history courses. At graduation, he broke up with his girlfriend of two years because he was moving out of state. That was a bit odd, mostly because a two year relationship in high school was as rare as graduating early.

The woman was Linda Una. She had been tinnier in high school. She helped with almost every club available. Student council, prom committee, yearbook, and the school newspaper all had been led by Linda Una at some point. There was no surprise she was running the reunion.

"Dennis Fisher?" Linda asked, making Reid snort. JJ elbowed him in the side, making him gasp out from surprise. He couldn't help almost laughing. Spencer Reid and Dennis Fisher had looked nothing alike, except for the fact they both had brown hair.

He muttered, "JJ." He had hoped that giving her name, either one of the two at the table would figure out who he was much faster.

Leon Kent snorted as well. "Are you crazy, Linda? Dennis Fisher has more muscle than _he _could ever dream of," he said, pointing directly at Reid. He managed to miss the young man's narrowed eyes at him.

"Well, Leon, there were barely any lanky kids in our graduating class," Linda said, picking at the paint of her nails. "Jeremy Locke?" she asked, looking at Reid.

Reid shook his head. "Steven Ferris? Matthew Schmidt? Noah Johnson?"

To this, Reid shook his head. Frustrated, he opened his mouth to speak, but Leon beat him to the punch. "Spencer Reid?"

Sighing, Reid nodded at the man. The two pairs of eyes blinked at him in surprise and he felt JJ's hand slide down into his own.

"Wow. Spencer Reid. How are you?" Linda Una asked, handing Reid his name tag. He noticed the paper clip on it and took it off, removing his hand from JJ's. Another name tag made itself visible. This was handed off to JJ, who took it from him. She removed the paper, stuck it onto her dress and returned her hand into Reid's.

"I'm good," he scoffed. He made his way to the doors, pulling JJ with him. Only she glanced back at the couple at the table, who stared off in awe. She couldn't tell what they would stare at him for. Either the fact he had chosen to come back, how much that twelve year old boy had grown, or because she was proudly standing with her hand in his.

The lights inside were down low, with most of the light coming from the flashing lights by the DJ. Balloons and streamers filled the large area, along with another banner welcoming the graduates. The poorly lit gym was filled with people. Some were dancing, some were lined up by the table filled with deserts and various drinks, but most were sitting at tables or standing around, talking. JJ heard Reid sigh and she looked over at him. His eyes traveled around the room, stopping every few often before continuing their unknown search. She could only imagine the memories he had of this place, whether they be good or bad.

Suddenly, his eyes grew wider as they fixed on something. JJ tried to look in the direction he was staring at, but he yanked on her hand. "There's an empty table over here," he yelled over the music. The music wasn't that loud where they were standing and a few people looked at him. He paid them no attention as he pulled JJ to an empty table.

"Spence," she said, watching as he used his free hand to pull a chair from the table. He must not have known his own strength because, when he pulled her down to the chair, she fell into it. "What's going on?"

"Stay here. I'm going to go get us something to drink," he told her. Not waiting for a response, he pulled his hand from hers and briskly walked away. He held her jacket in his hands, along with her clutch. His jacket was still on, but she noticed him removing his scarf as he walked. She blinked at his figure until he disappeared into a crowd and she could no longer see him. Sighing, she faced the table and rested her head on her right hand. She wish she knew what was up with him. _Maybe coming here was a bad idea, for the both of us,_ she thought.

She was about to pull her cell phone from her purse, but remembered it with Reid. Before she could think another thought, though, a deep voice said, "Hey, Babe."

JJ knew that couldn't be Dr. Reid. Stunned, she looked up at the man leaning toward her, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes, with sparkling teeth and a strong jaw line. This was the guy she used to dream about as a teenager, but now, her standards had changed.

"You never went here, did you? I'm sure I'd remember _your _face," his deep voice said again. JJ just blinked at him. She was never the one to fall for lame lines like that, and today was not the day she was going to change. She wanted to get up and leave, but then she would have a hard time finding the man she came with.

Smirking, she said, "No. I'm actually here with someone." To emphasize her point, she folded her hands on the table, making sure her ring was noticed.

"I can see," he said, eying the ring. "But, of course, not all engagements follow through." He winked at her and she was sure disgust exploded across her face. "So," he said, sitting down, "who are you here with?" He eyed her name tag and added, "Jennifer Jareau."

"How could that possibly concern you, Brad Rudolf?" she responded, playing his game in order to gain the upper hand. She's seen enough profiles to know how this guy's mind works from what little she knew.

He whistled, taking the seat across from her. "Because I probably can guess who he is."

_A little arrogant? _she thought sarcastically to herself. Instead, she nodded, waiting to hear the names he would come up with. She knew all his guesses would be wrong; who could possibly guess that she could was engaged to Dr. Spencer Reid? He was way too out of her league.

"David Anderson? The runner?"

"Nope."

He rested his chin on his hand and leaned in toward her. "Devin Harris?"

"Wrong again."

"Richard Powell? It _has _to be him!"

She shook her head again, and started picking at the table cloth. Brad Rudolf continued to list off names of people she has never heard of as she continued to shake her head. Her eyes had made their way downward as the one-sided conversation lasted. Sighing, she lifted her head, fully prepared to end this guy's fun, when she saw Reid make his way toward the table. Two glass cups were held in his hands and he was staring at the ground, trying to watch where he was going. She found herself sitting up straighter, a smile on her face growing.

A hand slapped down on the table, making her jump. "So it's Todd Foster? I always knew he would score a chick like you! That lucky dog!" Rudolf said, laughing.

"JJ," Reid said, approaching the table from behind the man, "There actually wasn't much of a selection, but I did manage to grab. . ."

He stopped talking when he noticed the man at the table. He swallowed, glancing at JJ as Brad Rudolf stood from the table. His eyes traveled over the young doctor's name tag, and he stared in disbelief. "Spencer Reid? Little Spencer Reid? Is that really you, man?" A smirk grew on the older man's face.

"Uh," Reid stuttered, suddenly finding the urge to shove his hands in his pockets and pretend his cell phone was ringing. Here was _one _of the reason he didn't want to come back, standing right on front of him.

JJ, as always, came to his rescue. "Hey, Spence," she greeted, walking over to him. As she gently took one of the cups from his grasp, she kissed his cheek. She wanted to laugh at the blush that consumed him face, but instead, snuck her arm around his waist.

"Wait," Brad Rudolf said, watching the exchange, "You're engaged to _her?_ What're you? Pregnant?"

Reid didn't think it was possible, but he felt his face grow hotter. His mouth opened to answer, but no sound came out. He didn't even know how to respond to that. Lying had never been one of his strong skills, but he had managed years ago when he had his dirty secret.

"No," JJ answered, placing her glass on the table. She removed the other glass from his hand and placed it on the table. "We're pretty safe with the whole getting pregnant deal, but when we want to start a family, it won't be a problem. This guy, my fiancé, is _really_ good at practicing." Pulling on Reid's arm, she stalked off toward the dance floor, leaving the man behind her dumbfounded.

"JJ," Reid hissed when they were out of sight of his old classmate, "What was that for?"

Turning to face him, she responded, "Spence, that guy was basically undressing me with his eyes. He wanted me to cheat on my fiancé with him and thought I would want to as well. I had to put him in his place."

"Yeah, well now, he probably thinks I'm a sexual deviant."

Turning back in the direction she was walking, she said, "All for a good cause. Let's dance."

She heard him groan, attempting to pull his arm from her grasp, but failing. It only brought a smile to her face. "It won't be that bad," she told him.

"Obviously, you've never seen me dance," he told her.

As they made their way toward the center of the crowded dance floor, she said, "You need to loosen up a bit."

In response, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets as she twirled in front of him. He bit his lip, looking longingly over his shoulder at an empty table, as if that was his only escape. Frustrated, JJ pulled his hands free from his pockets and held them in a death grip.

Blood rushed to his face and he felt as if everyone was watching, though no one paid them any attention. Reid was never big for dances, for he didn't attend any when he was in high school. He began to stutter as their connected hands moved back and forth with the beat of the music.

As the song ended, a balding man came onto the stage. "Hello, everyone," he confidently stated. "Welcome back Class of 1992!"

Cheers erupted from the people, clapping for their class. Reid, however, would never clap for his class. It was a terrible class.

"If you could find some seats, I would gladly like to start the ceremony," the man said, shuffling across the stage to talk to a woman on the other side.

As Reid tugged JJ toward the table he spotted while "dancing", she asked, "What ceremony?"

"I honestly have no idea," he stated. He pulled out a chair for her, being the gentleman his mother raised him to be, before sitting himself. Both their chairs were side by side, facing the stage, but he felt no reason to turn to talk to her. He was waiting for his blush to drain.

Two guys walked by their table, heads close together as they talked. Their eyes kept darting around as if they were looking out for something or someone. Reid knew that feeling all too well. They stopped in front of his table, muttered something to each other.

The one with reddish-brown hair, lanky limbs and black rimmed glasses asked, "Can we sit here? There seems to be nowhere else." Reid glanced around the room. There were definitely empty seats in the room, just no empty tables.

JJ smiled and nodded politely. The other man, with wild blond hair, too blue eyes and crooked teeth, smiled and followed his friend around the table to sit toward the back.

"Do you know them?" JJ whispered suddenly, leaning over. Her head was almost resting on his shoulder, her warm breath on his ear. It made him jump, but he relaxed when he realized who it was.

As the man returned to the microphone, Reid shrugged. There wasn't time to try to recognize them and tell JJ. He was hoping the man on stage, who was his seemingly un-aged high school principal, would say that this reunion had to end early. Reid was still not having the best time, even though JJ made it better.

"Well," the man started. "I would like, again, to say 'Welcome back!' If you don't recognize me, I am Mr. Duffy, your principal from 1992. Every year, we have awards. They're basically the re-giving of our senior awards, with a few added in."

Reid sighed and slumped in his seat. "What's wrong?" JJ asked. He just waved her off, not wanting to talk about it.

"First, I would like to re-announce your Prom King and Queen from 15 years ago. Welcome back, Brad Rudolf and Alexa Lisbon!" Applause came from the crowd from all the adults in the gym, other than Reid. He, in fact, didn't believe these people deserved to be applauded after what they did to him.

Brad made his way onto the stage, soaking in the love he was receiving. He was followed by a petite woman, with long dark hair, a red dress and black heels. Reid hadn't feared her much after he left Las Vegas, but seeing her made sweat break out on his forehead and hands. Licking his lips, he wiped his hands on his pants legs. Next thing he knew, his hand was being gently squeezed by a much cooler hand. He was surprised to find his hand in JJ's.

After Brad and Alexa left the stage, Reid was noticeably much calmer. He watched the ceremony, slapping his free hand against his leg as a substitute for clapping. His other one was grasping his partners, as if he'd lose her if he let go.

Just as the ceremony was drawing to a close and people were becoming restless, Mr. Duffy came to the microphone once again. "Okay, people. Just one more recognition and we will continue one with our reunion. The number one reason to go to high school is to succeed in life, as we all know, and our last 'award'," he said, using his finger as quotation marks, "goes to the person who succeeded the most in life. Of course, this was no surprise." A laugh came from the stage, but no one else laughed.

Mr. Duffy coughed. "He was awarded 'Most Likely to Succeed' in '92!" he said, almost shouting. "Welcome back, Spencer Reid!"

Reid froze. There was nothing more he wanted to do than dash out the door, in the exact opposite direction of the stage. The only thing that kept him planted was JJ's firm grasp on his hand.

He suddenly jumped when he felt warm breath on his ear. "Go," she whispered. Swallowing, he nodded. He took a deep breath and stood up, making his way toward the stage. His hand didn't release its grip from JJ's until he was too far to still hold it. There was applause, of course, but he couldn't hear it over the pounding of blood in his ears.

"Spencer," Mr. Duffy said, smiling and vigorously shaking the genius's hand.

Reid licked his lips. "Hi, Mr. Duffy," he replied, a bit uncomfortable to be in the spotlight.

"Please," said the older man. "Tell us what you did after high school."

"I'd rather not," Reid answered. He didn't another reason for these people to hate him.

"We just wanna know. Since you did so well in high school at such a young age, the rest of your life must be interesting. You're a doctor, right?"

_Obviously, you want me to be hit in the face_, Reid thought bitterly. "Yes," Reid stated, leaning into the microphone. "Three doctorates, actually."

"And where do you work now?" he asked.

Reid shifted on his feet. "FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit. I'm an FBI agent, as well," he answered, trying to get off the stage.

"That's nice. Is that it?"

"That's it, Mr. Duffy."

Suddenly, someone shouted from the crowd, yelling, "He's engaged!" There were a few laughs, laughs that Reid knew all too well.

"Thank you, Brad. For your input," the retired principal said. He squinted out toward the crowd, but had no luck. It was impossible to see past the bright lights. He turned back to Reid, asking, "Who is the lucky lady?"

Reid suddenly grew more nervous than before. "Jennifer Jareau. She's from Pennsylvania. Not from here."

"Please stand, young lady. I want to know the face," he said into the microphone. He turned his attention off stage and said, "Daniel. Turn the lights on her."

"I'm sure you don't have to," Reid injected, not wanting JJ to suffer the same embarrassment he was suffering.

Mr. Duffy shook his head. "Nonsense," he said. When the light was turned on JJ, she was standing, a toothy smile on her face. Reid automatically recognized that look as her press look, for when she was faced against a mob of reporters. Yet, even with the blush on her cheeks and her hands fluttering at her side, Reid couldn't look away. At least, until the lights moved away from her.

Reid blinked as Mr. Duffy congratulated him. He muttered a thanks before rushing off stage. The man closed his ceremony as Reid went to sit next to his fake fiancée.

"That wasn't too bad," she muttered as he sat down.

"For you," he replied, sticking his hands in his pockets.

As the ceremony ended, some cheers erupted, but not many. Most cheering was done during. "Okay, party people," the DJ said, in a mysterious and deep tone. "We're going to slow it down a bit for this next song. Remember this song from your prom night?"

As "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" began playing over the speakers, Reid was fully set on staying in his seat, only to be stopped by the blonde tugging on his arm. He looked up, caught by her deep blue eyes.

"Please, Spence," she practically begged. He sighed. With his whole high school class watching, he would end up doing something dumb or embarrassing. Especially since he had the biggest crush on her, as he had for years.

"Sure, JJ. For you," he answered, standing up. She smiled at him, grabbed his hand and led his toward the dance floor. He felt like he was flying when she held his hand. There was one good thing about that night.

They danced closer than he thought they would. The dance floor was packing with people and Reid was a bit uncomfortable standing this close to her. Her hands were on neck and his hands were on her waist. They were close enough that their foreheads almost touched. In truth, Reid was happy and excited, but he wasn't sure how JJ felt about him. He believed she couldn't love him like he loved her.

Somehow, when he looked into her eyes, he felt like something was right. To test the waters, because Spencer Reid was not dumb, he closed the space between them, putting his forehead against hers. His return was a soft, warm smile.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he replied. Taking a deep breath, he took a leap. "There's something I have to tell you."

She nodded, creating friction on their foreheads. "Go on," she told him, encouraging.

"I think I'm in love with you, JJ," he told her. She blinked at him and he thought time slowed down. It seemed to take hours between each note in the song, days in between breaths.

To his horror, she didn't answer him. Instead, she moved closer, resting her forehead on his collarbone. He felt like he was going to be sick. He had done it, he took a leap and now he crashed landed. Swallowing, he rested his cheek against her hair. They still had a part to play until they left. His broken heart could handle that much.

He breathed in the smell of her hair and skin, a mixture of lilacs and vanilla, as they swayed back and forth to the beat of the music. There was a slight sniffling sound and he was sure that was coming from his heartbreaker.

As the song ended, JJ lifted her head. "I think we should leave," she muttered. He bit his lip, but nodded. Her hand was once again inside his as he led them to grab their jackets and her clutch. He grabbed them, but didn't stop.

"Where you going? Reunion's only half over," said one man at the door. Reid just ignored him, pulling JJ along with him. The night air was chilly and it hit him hard when he threw open the doors. He paid it no mind, marching toward the car.

He couldn't explain his attitude. All he knew was he wanted to go back to his hotel room, so he could just be alone. He's had his heart broken before when his father left and when Gideon left. Hurt wasn't a stranger to him and he knew how to cope.

"Spence," JJ started, but he ignored her. She grew more desperate. "Spence," she said again, but still no answer as he dragged her to the car.

Finally, she grew angry. "_Reid_," she emphasized, using his last name as leverage.

That worked. He stopped. "What, JJ?" he asked. "What do you want?" They had reached the car and now he turned on her. He had dropped her hand, but still held the jackets tightly in his hand. His voice was raised slightly louder than necessary.

"What is wrong with you?" she quietly asked. In a way, she was afraid. He never acted like this, not since after his kidnapping.

He snorted a laugh. "Wrong with me? I think it's pretty obvious what's wrong with me. I took a chance with you. I told you how I felt about you and all you did was -" He was interrupted when something crashed into his mouth.

In truth, he didn't realize what had happened until the smell of lilacs invaded his nose. He acted on instinct, kissing her soft lips. His hands dropped their contents in order to pull her closer. Her mouth tasted fruity, like the punch he thought she didn't drink, and he just wanted her more.

He's never been in love. He thought he was high above the clouds when she simply held his hand. Now, he felt like he was in space, floating past the moon and any troubles he had. He found that his brain no longer functioned right, and he found that was just fine with him.

When they broke apart, he couldn't speak. That was alright with her. "Spence," she said, trying to catch her breath. "If I tried to tell you how I felt in that gym, _that _would have happened in front of everyone."

"I'm glad it didn't," he told her, bending down to grab the items on the ground.

She turned toward the car to get inside. There was nothing more she wanted to do than go home, but her stomach had other ideas. "Let's go out and get real food. I'm starving," she said. He held the door for her as she climbed in.

"This reunion wasn't so bad," he commented, mainly to himself.

As he was about to shut the door, she spoke up, "By the way, Spence, I think I'm in love with you, too."

He just smiled at her, then leaned down to kiss her one more time before they left.

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><p>"<em>Love is just love, it can never be explained."<em>

_- Unknown Author -  
><em>


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